Israel 'could send aid to Iraq'

Israel 'could send aid to Iraq'

Shalom (l) is a strong ally of Sharon

Israel has offered to send humanitarian aid to Iraq if a request is made by the United Nations.

The country's new Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, made the offer after talks with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York.

"If there are humanitarian steps that the United Nations will take, and if he wants the members of the UN to participate, we will be able to be a part of it," he told reports.

Referring to the Western coalition's war against Saddam Hussein - a sworn enemy of Israel - Mr Shalom insisted that Israel wanted no part in it.

"We are not part of this war. We want to stay out of this war. We've said it many times before," he said.

He had been meeting Mr Annan to discuss Israel's continuing frictions with Lebanon, with which it shares a disputed border, as well prospects of a settlement with the Palestinians.

The Israeli minister, who was appointed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon this year after his re-election, was due to travel on to Washington later.

Optimism

Iraq fired missiles at Israel during the 1991 Gulf War, and has backed the Palestinian uprising, making well-publicised donations to families of people killed fighting Israel.

Israel, a strong US ally, has been on alert for new Iraqi attacks during the present crisis.

Turning to the issue of the Palestinians, Mr Shalom said that he was "looking forward to see if there is a possibility to resume negotiations" after the formation of the new government under Mahmoud Abbas.

On Lebanon, the Israeli foreign minister said he had asked the UN secretary general to hand over items belonging to Israeli soldiers missing there, presumed dead, which, he said, were being kept in a UN warehouse in the country.

Mr Shalom also said Israel wanted to "do everything to improve its relationship" with the UN.